Even by the standards of the film noir genre, the poster art for 1954’s Crime Wave seen to the left seems awfully tawdry. Of course, this made me curious to discover if the movie could live up to that lurid advertisement.

After a stint in prison, Steve Lacey (Gene Nelson) attempts to go straight. He tries to settle into a calm life with wife Ellen (Phyllis Kirk).

Alas, Steve’s past haunts him when escapee former inmates invade his home. This leads to a risky situation for Steve and Ellen, all while Detective Lt. Sims (Sterling Hayden) pursues the outlaws.

To answer the question posed in my intro: no, Crime Wave doesn’t approach the sleazy excesses implied by its poster. Honestly, I think the person who created the ad never saw the movie or knew anything about it, as it bears no resemblance whatsoever to the film in question.

Expect to see the sexy brunette in the image? Nope, as she never appears, and we don’t get the “city blasted sin-side-out” either.

Over the top as that illustration seems, Crime Wave could use more of its spirit. Instead of the melange of sex and violence the promo promises, we get a surprisingly dull affair.

Based on the synopsis, I expected Wave to deliver a taut home invasion thriller ala 1955’s The Desperate Hours. That one brought a tense tale of criminals on the run.

With Wave, though, the story seems oddly toothless. Despite the literal life and death on display, the movie progresses slowly and doesn’t go much of anywhere until the last 10 minutes or so.

By that point, it seems tough to care. The prior hour feels so sluggish that a more action-oriented finale can’t redeem it.

It doesn’t help that much of Wave comes across like a spoof of noir projects. It embraces clichés and almost becomes comedic in this way.

Wave does give us a look at a young Charles Bronson – here billed under his real last name of “Buchinsky” – and with a mere 74-minute running time, it doesn’t wear out its welcome. Nonetheless, this turns into a surprisingly limp thriller.

Crime Wave appears in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This turned into a typically positive Warner Archive presentation.

Overall sharpness satisfied. A few shots came across as a bit soft, but the majority of the flick appeared well-defined and concise.

No issues with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and I saw no edge haloes. Print flaws remained absent, and light grain cropped up through the film.

Blacks seemed deep and dense, while shadows seemed smooth and clear. I liked this appealing image.

In addition, the movie’s DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack seemed more than satisfactory given its age. Speech could seem a bit brittle but the lines remained intelligible and without edginess or other issues.

Music sounded slightly shrill but remained acceptably lively, and effects followed suit, as those elements appeared thin but without distortion or issues. The soundtrack worked fine for its vintage.

As we head to extras, we locate an audio commentary from film historian Eddie Muller and author James Ellroy. Both sit together for a running, screen-specific look at story/characters and genre areas, cast and crew, production elements and their thoughts about the film.

Muller does all the heavy lifting here, as virtually all the useful info we find comes from him. Though he leans into praise too much, he still manages to give us a reasonable glimpse at the various domains.

Unfortunately, Ellroy becomes an overbearing annoyance, as he spits out creepy noises related to attractive women and makes stabs at hipster lingo. While Muller manages to semi-redeem the track, Ellroy’s shtick makes the track a tough listen.

A featurette entitled The City Is Dark spans five minutes, 58 seconds. It brings remarks from critic Richard Schickel, director Andre de Toth, filmmakers Christopher Coppola and Oliver Stone, and film historians Elizabeth Ward and Alain Silver.

“Dark” discusses director de Toth as well as aspects of the Crime Wave production. Most of “Dark” just acts as an appreciation of de Toth and the movie so we don’t learn much of value.

Along with the movie’s trailer, we find two vintage shorts. The disc includes Gadgets Galore (10:40) and Baby Buggy Bunny (7:07).

Galore offers a quick history of the automobile through the mid-1950s. While it leans comedic, it actually becomes a surprisingly informative little affair.

An animated affair, Buggy shows that a bank robber’s ill-gotten gains accidentally wind up in Bugs’ rabbit hole and the crook uses his infant shtick to fool the Bunny and retrieve his cash. This comes with a few laughs but seems less than memorable.

Despite a plot packed with potential, Crime Wave ends up as a relative dud. It never fulfills the potential its story implies so it lands with a thud. The Blu-ray offers very good picture, appropriate audio and a mix of bonus features. Not much about the movie satisfies.